Abstract
A study tested if women are influenced in the Taylor aggression paradigm by different information about the state of intoxication in their faking men partners. Earlier results for men indicated the operation of a confounding variable in this respect. Women like men expected intoxicated partners to be more aggressive but unlike men did not choose a more aggressive mode of responding. Different explanations were suggested, for instance in terms of women's attitudes to electric shocks, different perceptions of provoking stimuli, and attributions. With women this paradigm is valid but may be insensitive to experimental manipulations.